Whirlwind
by eclaire291
Summary: Fū reflects on loyalty and friendship as she waits for the Akatsuki. When faced with death, will she fight to save herself or to protect the village that hated her?


Title: Whirlwind  
Characters/Pairings: Fū (jinchuuriki of the Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle)  
Author's Notes: If you've read my other stories, you probably already know I'm partial to the lesser known characters of Naruto. And since the jinchuuriki definitely aren't featured in enough fanfictions, I decided to remedy that problem.  
More information: Although Fū was indeed a jinchuuriki from Taki who was captured by the Akatsuki, that is the extent of canon fact in this story. Everything else from her chakra affinity to her being captured by Deidara and Sasori was made up by me. Shibuki is a real character from Taki; however, his friendship with Fū is also fan-based fancy on my part. Want more info on the jinchuuriki? Wikipedia is your friend!  
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own the Naruto franchise. If I did I'd actually have money, I probably wouldn't spend my time writing fanfiction, and KibaHina would be canon.

* * *

**Whirlwind**

Fū, jinchuuriki of the Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle, was tired. She was tired of being hated, she was tired of being shunned, she was tired of running. She looked around the damp cave and finally found a semi-flat rock in the corner. Lowering herself down on to the rock, she savored the relief of finally being off her feet. Her legs burned. She had been walking for more than eight hours without rest.

Pressing her back against the cool wall of the cave, she turned her head to look out the mouth of the cave and watched the rain that assaulted the ground. There were no signs of the two cloaked men who had been following her for the past week. She sighed. It didn't matter if they found her now though. She was far away from her village, far away from Taki. She wasn't sure why this was so important. It hurt too much to think about it now though.

Instead she unstrapped the scroll she carried on her back and let it fall to the ground next to her feet. She rubbed away the tension in her shoulders and sighed. Next she opened the clasp of her soaked traveling cloak and let it fall in a heap on top of the discarded scroll and slipped her sandals off her feet. She glanced at the now exposed forehead protector secured to the upper part of her right arm. The kanji etched in the center was supposed to reflect her loyalty to her village, but she had lost that feeling of loyalty years ago.

Dipping her bare toes into the shallow puddle of icy rainwater gathered on the floor of the cave, Fū tilted her head back and closed her startling orange eyes. Memories of Taki unexpectedly and unwillingly flooded over her. She remembered the huge maple tree that sheltered the village that would turn brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow in the autumn and shower the village with warm color when the weather turned frigid. Vaguely she found herself wondering if this was the year the tree produced hero water. It didn't matter though. The shinobi from the village knew better than to use that water and were content with the chakra levels they already possessed. Only ambitious shinobi from other villages would pay for the water, relishing the power it granted.

She allowed herself a small smile as she continued to reminisce about the village that she both loved and despised. Even now, years after her last visit to Taki, she could still feel the broken wind that cut through the smaller copse of trees hiding the village from sight. The trees were the village's greatest defense and obscured the blocks of houses pressed together like dominos. Try as she might, she couldn't picture her house though. She had long forgotten that part of her. She could remember the crowded streets though, the market, the hum of conversation around her as she walked down the street.

She remembered _him_ too. His name…it took a while for her to remember. Ah, yes, it was Shibuki. He had been younger than her. She could remember his black hair that fell into his face and brushed the bottom of his neck, his large onyx eyes, and his toothy grin. Well, forget the grin. He hadn't smiled much after his father's death. Damn it, why did people put so much faith in strength? Fū clenched her fist and slammed it against the rock she was sitting on. Sure, Shibuki's father had drunk the hero water in order to protect the village, but couldn't he have done that using his own power? Too many people were convinced that strength gave people an advantage. Well, that was their mistake.

That's why she had befriended Shibuki. He had known that strength and power were two different things. And like her, the village saw him as the opposite of what he really was. They viewed Shibuki as cowardly and a failure of a shinobi. He had passed his chunin exams but refused to train any further. He was worthless to the village. Fū knew better though. Shibuki had lost faith in his abilities, but he wasn't a coward. When put to the test, she knew he would stand up for what he believed in.

On the other hand, the village viewed Fū as a failure for a different reason. She was a jinchuuriki, a monster in their eyes. The people of the village had looked at her with hate and distrust in their eyes. Whenever they saw her walking down the street, mothers would drag their children away, store owners would lock their doors, and her fellow shinobi would ignore her presence. She was only a tool in the hands of the village elders. However, after her sensei had passed away and no other shinobi had been willing to train her, she was cast aside. They didn't think she had the strength to harness the power of the Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle they had sealed within her body.

It was true. She didn't have much control over the tailed beast. Even now she could feel its power pulsing under her skin. It had been years since the last time she had lost control of the tailed beast. Even in the worst situations, she refrained from tapping into the tailed beast's chakra reserves. It was too risky. The tailed beast was strong and severely aggressive, but she knew that once she released her control, the seal holding the beast at bay would weaken. She scoffed silently as she considered the faded seal burned on her forearm. If the elders of Taki were so adamant about holding a tailed beast in their possession, they should have at least sealed it properly.

She continued to stare at the seal and let her fingertips gently trace the curving lines. Suddenly her mind was caught up in a whirlwind of past memories once again.

* * *

_She was walking down the streets of Taki. It was midafternoon and the market should have been bustling with people but as soon as they caught sight of Fū, they walked the other way. Pushing a strand of mint green hair behind her ear, she moved the dried resin from a sweetgum tree against her cheek and savored the bittersweet flavor of it. She ignored the scathing gazes sent her way by various street vendors and instead focused on her plans for the day. The elders of Taki were insisting on a meeting with her to discuss the possibility of finding her a new sensei. Like that would happen any time soon._

"_If you do find a new sensei, I'll rip the pathetic shinobi to shreds," the Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle growled from somewhere deep within her subconscious._

_Fū ignored the murderous intentions of the tailed beast and continued on her way. When she was younger, she would hold silent arguments with it and try to suppress its thoughts. She had quickly given up though. The more she argued and resisted, the deeper it settled into her mind and the more control it held over her. At times she had been afraid to fall asleep because that was the time she became most aware of the beast's presence. Now she ignored it, refusing to fuel the beast's aggressive nature._

_Fū sighed and paused outside the tea shop. Maybe she would go to the waterfall before the meeting and attempt to fit in some last minute training. She always found the waterfall soothing, and it was far away from the judging eyes of the villagers. Plus, there were a cluster of sweetgum trees there, and she needed to stock up on dried resin to chew on because she was running low once again. She turned on her heel to head in the direction of the waterfall and collided with a small boy who had just hurried out of the tea shop. Thrown off balance, Fū fell back against the shop window and her red-wrapped scroll fell to the ground. The boy was thrown to the ground as well. Shamefaced, he stared at her feet._

"_I-I'm s-s-sorry. I w-wasn't looking where I was g-going," he stuttered._

_Grabbing her scroll and slinging it over her shoulder once again, she squatted in front of him and studied him curiously. When she didn't respond to his apology, the boy looked up warily and returned her studying gaze. Finally, Fū held out a hand to help him to his feet again. He took it and soon he was dusting off his clothing, a barely noticeable blush settling in his cheeks._

"_Thanks," he said hastily. "M-my name's Shibuki, by the way."_

"_I'm Fū," she answered stiffly._

_She reached up to adjust the clip in her hair. Whether intentional or not, she allowed her sleeve to slip down slightly, exposing her forearm and the seal burned on the skin above her wrist. She watched with narrowed eyes as the boy's gaze wandered to the seal. He studied it for a moment, but he didn't flinch or run away or make any sign that he was affected by the revelation that she was a jinchuuriki._

_Stunned, she stared at him blandly. "Aren't you scared?"_

_He looked at her with wide eyes and said, "N-no. M-my father told me to al-always accept people, no matter what. He told me about you. You're the jinchuuriki for the Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle, right?"_

_Fū nodded._

"_He t-told me you're a clever shinobi, and that you're the protector of this village," Shibuki concluded, his voice gaining some confidence._

_This came as a shock to Fū. No one had ever told her she was clever before, especially no one from Taki. She felt an unfamiliar emotion rise in her chest. Happiness. She was happy. Was it possible that she had found a friend? For years she had been alone, except for her former sensei. Other children had been too terrified of her or had been warned off by their parents from spending time with Fū. But this kid didn't seem to be afraid of her. She bit back a smile and looked down at Shibuki once again._

"_I'm going to the waterfall to train. Do you want to come with me?" she asked._

_The boy suddenly shuffled his feet and muttered, "I'm not any good at training. After my father died, I've been…I'm…well, I'm a coward."_

_Fū placed her hands on her hips and glared down at him. "Listen up, kid. If you're not afraid of a scary monster like me, then I'm sure you can handle a kunai."_

_Shibuki raised his head slightly and met her stern gaze. The shadow of a smile reached his eyes although it didn't make itself present on his lips. That was enough though. She tossed him one of her spare kunai and started down the path once again. He grasped the kunai and followed her to the waterfall._

* * *

And Shibuki had continued to train with her over the years. She always defeated him easily while sparring, but he never took it badly or gave up. He would always return the next day, eager to learn more. Even though he continued to be hopelessly nervous, he was far from cowardly. He took challenges head-on and was perhaps more tenacious than Fū could ever hope to be. For everything she taught him, he would return the favor, instilling in her the will to be patient and understanding and everything else that she had previously cast aside as unnecessary, weak emotions. Eventually, the harsh words of Taki residents hissed behind her back or the cold glares of her fellow ninjas shot at her when she walked down the street no longer bothered her. Sometimes she thought it was that one assertion that kept her going. That one claim that Shibuki had answered her with when she first asked if he was frightened by her.

"So, Shibuki, I'm a clever shinobi and protector of Taki?" she considered dryly, her hand automatically closing around the forehead protector on her arm. She felt the kanji etching press against her palm.

"A clever shinobi? You don't seem that clever, yeah," a rough voice said.

Two dark-cloaked men entered the cave. The driving rain had muffled the sound of their approach. Not that it changed matters. Fū knew they thought they had cornered her in the drafty cave, but the truth is she was waiting for them. She barely gave them a half glance before slowly rising from the rock she had been sitting on. Her eyes took in their dark cloaks stitched with red clouds and their straw hats with white tassels that veiled their faces. The one man was tall and thin with sheets of blond hair pooling out from under the straw hat he wore. The other man was hunched and had a lethal-looking steel tail that reminded Fū of a scorpion.

"Akatsuki, huh? I recognize the symbols on your cloaks. I've been expecting you," she said calmly, her voice displaying no emotion.

The taller Akatsuki member reached into the pouch at his hip and smirked cruelly. "You recognized us as Akatsuki, hm? I guess you must be a little clever then."

"Stop wasting time," the hunched man suddenly broke in darkly.

"Calm down, Sasori, my man. We'll make short work of this one. She's barely standing right now. It was foolish of her to walk eight hours without rest, yeah."

The man called Sasori studied Fū throw bloodshot eyes and said in a voice that sounded more like a snarl, "You are probably right, Deidara. She won't last much longer."

_They think I'm helpless, _Fū fumed.

"You can be strong. Just say the word and I'll share my chakra with you. I'll rip them, tear them," the tailed beast rumbled within her.

She fought against the tailed beast's attempts to gain control. She knew in hindsight this was probably a foolish move. There was no way she would be able to fight off two Akatsuki members with her chakra alone. And after her sensei had passed away, she had given up on formal training. She wasn't going to give up though.

"How did you figure out we were following you, hm?" Deidara asked, his smirk widening.

Fū's eyes narrowed, and she clenched her fist. Her voice was filled with anger when she finally said, "I overheard your meeting with the elders of Taki. They sold me out. Not that I wasn't expecting it. They never had much faith in my abilities. They gave up on me a long time ago, and I gave up on humanity around the same time. They'll always hate me no matter what I do. Even if I had stayed in Taki and killed you there, they would have hated me. They'd still see me as a monster."

"Then why don't you just give up, hm? Make it easier on yourself," Deidara countered, withdrawing his hand from the pouch. Several balls of clay were clutched in his palm.

Shibuki's words came back to her. He had been her closest friend. He had believed in her. He had never seen her as a monster; he had seen her as a clever shinobi and a protector of Taki. And, damn it, that's what she was. Fū grasped her forehead protector again and gritted her teeth. She would never give up. She would fight to protect Shibuki. She would fight to protect the village she both loved and hated. She wasn't going to run away again.

Fū caught the movement out the corner of her eye and reflexively raised her arms to shield her face. The balls of clay exploded in her face, pushing her back but not managing to knock her off her feet. She dodged his next bomb and grabbed her scroll from where she had deposited it in the corner of the cave. She quickly unrolled it and pressed her palm against one of the various symbols inked on the parchment. Her folding fan was summoned, and she wasted no time in using her wind release to send a whirlwind jutsu their way.

"Funny," she panted slightly, "I was about to say the same to you."

In a blur, she was suddenly in front of Deidara and managed to kick him directly in the jaw. He stumbled back at the assault and cursed under his breath. Sasori appeared unmoved by the attack on his partner and continued to watch Fū through his bloodshot eyes. Fū retreated to a safe distance and studied her would-be captors. Deidara's straw hat had fallen away during her attack revealing a face with sharp features and a slanted blue eye. One half of his face was obscured by blond bangs. Fū took in all these details, attempting to quickly piece together the mystery around these Akatsuki members so she could find their weakness.

Her orange eyes sparkled with adrenaline as she said in a falsely cheerful and almost conversational tone, "Where's Kakazu-sama? I would have thought he'd be thrilled at the chance to further his infamy in Taki. Or didn't he think I was _worth_ the effort?"

Deidara narrowed his eyes, surprised by her knowledge of another Akatsuki member's identity. Did she know more than she let on or was it just a coincidence? After all, Kakazu had been from her village. But he hadn't stepped foot there in more than two hundred years. Surely his notoriety had died down. So how had this brat known his name? She had even subtly hinted toward his obsession with finances. Something was wrong with this picture that Deidara couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Kakazu had a prior engagement, yeah. Sorry to disappoint you," he answered, not sounding the least bit sorry.

"Not disappointed. Just curious," Fū retorted lightly, her eyes watching Deidara. She deemed him as the bigger threat at the moment as the other Akatsuki member seemed content to watch the fight without contributing. However, Deidara didn't seem willing to continue the battle just yet. Fū was positive he was too busy pondering her familiarity with Kakazu. At least she had the upper hand for the moment. Her eyes sparkled darkly once again as she cautiously redirected her attention to the hunchbacked man. There was no doubt in her mind that this was Sasori of the Red Sand. She felt a sadistic grin light her face. To think she was finally meeting this infamous man. If you could call him a man, she thought to herself as she studied his contorted figure.

"So you're Sasori of the Red Sand? I've heard of you. You had quite the reputation during the Third Great Shinobi War," Fū said, turning her attention to him now that Deidara had something to chew over.

The man's eyes narrowed even more, but he still made no move to attack her. Instead he said, "It's an honor to hear that my name is known even in the village of Taki."

Fū took a chance and began to walk toward him. "The Third Kazekage went missing right before the start of the war, didn't he? That's interesting that his disappearance sparked a war that nearly destroyed the village that you defected from. I heard that Suna practically crumbled after the war. The Wind daimyo cut their funding and compromised their military power," she mused aloud.

With each word, Sasori's body visibly tensed. Deidara glanced at his partner and then back at the seemingly weak, powerless twig of a girl. How was she causing his usually stoic partner to lose his cool? And why was she babbling about the war? Deidara tried to get more clay from his pouch, but Sasori stopped him with a firm glare.

"You seem to be very interested in history," Sasori finally rasped.

"Mmhmm," Fū assented. "History interests me a great deal. It reveals the truth behind humanity, how sickening human action can be. But facts are misleading sometimes."

"Facts are indisputable," Sasori countered.

Fū shook her head. "Suna reported that the Third Kazekage was forcibly captured and taken from their village based on facts. Those facts were deliberately misleading though. I have no facts to prove this but I believe that the Third Kazekage never left the village. He was murdered in Suna by someone who wanted to see the village crumble through their own efforts, through their own loyalty to the village. Someone like you, Sasori-sama."

When he made no move to respond to her statement, she continued, "Your village was responsible for the deaths of your parents. Suna forced them to fight in a war despite the fact that they had an infant son. Suna didn't care for individuals, they only wanted to preserve the village through whatever means necessary."

Deidara visibly balked at this statement. How was this girl stating things that not even he knew about Sasori? Of course, he had known vague details concerning Sasori's defection from Suna and his role in the Third Great Shinobi War. But the information about the Third Kazekage was news to him. He resisted the urge to turn to Sasori and see how he was taking this girl's insolence. He wondered vaguely if Sasori would obey orders and keep this girl alive long enough for her tailed beast to be extracted. He didn't wonder for long though. Leader would personally dispose of Sasori if anything happened to delay his plans to utilize the power of the tailed beasts.

And then came the last log to the fire. Fū turned hard eyes to Sasori and said, "Lady Karura would have difficulty recognizing you today, Sasori-sama. I doubt anyone would believe the man responsible for the crippling of Suna would so quickly become the puppet of the Akatsuki."

Suddenly the atmosphere changed. Unlike Deidara's surprise attack, Fū could feel his practically feel his murderous intent as Sasori prepared to strike. However, unlike Deidara's attack, Fū was barely able to dodge this time. Sasori remained stationary but his scorpion tail swung around and nearly pierced Fū's chest. She moved at the last moment and gasped in surprise as small droplets were flung from the tip of the tail. She automatically reached up to rub away the moisture at the side of her eye and was shocked when an intense burning sensation suddenly gripped her. Her vision blurred, and she realized too late that the tip had been dipped in poison.

_Dammit, I should have seen that coming. He is ninja from Suna, after all. They specialize in the use of poisons, _Fū told herself.

"Weak child. You are wasting time. Let me make you strong," the tailed beast insisted once again. This time she could feel him inside her, longing to claw his way out.

"Shut up!" Fū screamed, not even realizing she had spoken aloud. Both Akatsuki members seemed somewhat taken aback by this outburst. That is, Deidara's eyes widened and Sasori's narrowed. Taking advantage of this, she ran her hand along the jagged wall of the cave until a rock finally broke skin. Turning to her summoning scroll she pressed her bleeding palm firming against another inked symbol. Smoke followed her summoning, revealing a massive colorful bird. The bird rose into the air before settling heavily on Fū's shoulder.

Trying to ignore the blindness slowly taking over her left eye, Fū panted, "I take it from your reaction that you're familiar with Lady Karura. She did train under your grandmother Chiyo-sama."

Deidara found himself fed up with all this talk. He was curious to hear how well Sasori had known the wife of the Fourth Kazekage, but at the same time he knew he was safer not knowing. The Akatsuki were really a group of individuals, after all. Knowing too much about another member could be dangerous, and Deidara didn't relish the thought of sleeping with one eye open for fear of assassination.

"This is boring, yeah. It's time to finish this with a bang!" he interrupted, reaching into his pouch and infusing his chakra into a ball of clay.

Before Fū could react to his foreshadowing remark, he withdrew his hand and threw and large owl-shaped bomb at her feet. She didn't have time to move this time. She closed her eyes and raised her arms to protect her face from the blast as Deidara made the sign for his explosion release to take effect. Suddenly the bird on her shoulder began to flap its wings, revealing its mastery of a wind release that caused the bomb to return to its creator. Deidara was dumbstruck at the bird's abilities and was further astonished when the bird fixed its black eyes on him in a way that was almost challenging. He barely managed to avoid being injured by his own art.

"Is that all you can do? It's getting kind of predictable," Fū said, forcing herself not to flinch in pain as the vision in her left eye degenerated even further. "I would have thought the Third Tsuchikage would have taught his student how to use the dust release. Perhaps he didn't think you were powerful enough to use it. Is that why you came up with your explosion release? To prove to him that you were special too? Because next to the dust release, an explosion release seems sort of weak."

Fū gestured to his bangs and added, "I also know that you have the ability of being both a short-range and long-range fighter. When I countered that bomb, the explosion created a gust of wind that blew back your hair and revealed the scope mounted to your eye. Only a long-range fighter would need something like that."

"You sure know a lot about us," Deidara said, barely managing to quell his urge to attack her.

"Shinobi are usually valued on their physical strength. I've spent my time strengthen my mind though. I want to know everything about the shinobi I face. And what I know about you is that you're weak," she stated, spitting at his feet.

She expected him to retaliate but she didn't expect Sasori to attack her instead. This time his aim was true. The tail of his scorpion tail pierced the wing of her summoned bird as it tried to shield her. The bird immediately dropped to the ground as the poison made its way into its bloodstream. Fū cursed under her breath and tried to keep her eyes on both of the Akatsuki members. She watched as Deidara lifted two fingers to his chin and activated his explosion release. Her eyes widened as she realized her mistake. Sasori had distracted her while a clay centipede had circled her ankles. She collapsed in pain as the centipede exploded, shattering her ankles. She refused to inspect the damage. She wasn't about to view the proof of her mistake. She reached for her summoning scroll just as the her surroundings began to slip out of focus. "Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance," she managed to murmur before consciousness was unwillingly ripped away from her grasp.

When she regained awareness, she found herself face down and surrounded by darkness. At first she thought she was still in the cave. Maybe the Akatsuki had abandoned her. Maybe her last attack had worked after all. She placed her palms against the ground and slowly raised herself to her knees. She looked around and found herself in some sort of void. She recalled the scope of Deidara's eye. Had the scope transported her to an alternate dimension?

She stood up quickly and called out, "Where am I?" Her voice echoed strangely, sounding empty against her ears.

"Fū," a voice said quietly.

She whirled around quickly and found herself staring into the onyx eyes of Shibuki. He looked the same as the last time she had seen him years ago. "Shibuki?" Fū stared at him and then looked around the empty darkness surrounding her. "Am I dead?"

"No," he answered.

Fū closed her eyes and tried to tap into her tailed beast's chakra. Try as she might she couldn't feel him anywhere in her subconscious. She opened her eyes again and glared accusingly at Shibuki. "I can't feel the Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle. I am dead."

Shibuki shrugged. "You're dying. The tailed beast is being extracted by the Akatsuki."

"I wonder how the Taki elders will react to being short a jinchuuriki," she wondered aloud. Suddenly she turned back to Shibuki. "Why are you here? You're not dead. You can't be."

"I'm still alive. This is taking place inside your mind. I'm just a figment of your imagination. But that doesn't mean this isn't real," Shibuki said. He turned and studied the blackness around them. He crouched down and touched the abyss beneath their feet. Green grass suddenly sprouted up. It was exactly like the grass from Taki.

"Are you going to stay with me until the end?" Fū asked suddenly, reaching out to grab his arm in case he tried to disappear.

Shibuki turned to her and shot her a toothy grin, breaking that serious expression that usually graced his face. "Of course, Fū. I would never leave you. You're my best friend."

Fū nodded and reached into her pocket. "Want some sweetgum resin?" Shibuki took a piece and popped it into his mouth. Fū mirrored his actions and then gestured to the waterfall that had suddenly appeared behind them. "Let's spar. This time you're going to win."

"Okay!" Shibuki exclaimed.

Time passed. Or maybe it didn't. Fū couldn't be sure. Regardless, they had finished sparring, and Shibuki had indeed won this time. Fū didn't feel weak though. She was proud. Shibuki had come a long way. They were sitting in the grass now, looking up at the waterfall.

Something was bothering her though. Avoiding Shibuki's eyes, Fū said softly, "I'm sorry I ran away from Taki."

"You did it to protect us, didn't you, Fū?" Shibuki asked without turning.

"Yeah," she admitted.

"See? I told you you're a clever shinobi and protector of Taki. Someday Taki is going to recognize you for the hero you truly are. I'll make sure of it."

"They're going to see that you're a hero too, Shibuki," Fū said as the waterfall began to fade into a bright light. Somehow this transition didn't surprise her or frighten her. Instead she stood up and began to walk toward the blinding whiteness without any qualms. She paused at the edge of the light. She touched her arm lightly where her forehead protector would normally be only to find that it wasn't there. She looked back and found Shibuki standing behind her. He held her missing forehead protector out to her. She took it and, instead of putting it on her arm, replaced it on her forehead.

"Are you coming with me?" she asked.

"Not today. We'll see each other again though. Don't worry."

She nodded and turned toward the light again. Without pausing to reflect on what would happen, she walked into it. She felt the light envelop her like a pair of arms folding in an embrace. Before she disappeared she found a smile, an honest and real smile free of disdain or bitterness, touch her lips. Like the wind, she was finally free.


End file.
